President Obama stresses the importance of Intellectual Property with President Hu of China

Here are some quotes on intellectual property from yesterday’s press conference with President Obama and President Hu of China.

I did also stress to President Hu that there has to be a level playing field for American companies competing in China, that trade has to be fair. So I welcomed his commitment that American companies will not be discriminated against when they compete for Chinese government procurement contracts. And I appreciate his willingness to take new steps to combat the theft of intellectual property.

Some of it has to do with intellectual property protection. So we were just in a meeting with business leaders, and Steve Ballmer of Microsoft pointed out that their estimate is that only one customer in every 10 of their products is actually paying for it in China. And so can we get better enforcement, since that is an area where America excels — intellectual property and high-value added products and services.

And the Chinese government has, to its credit, taken steps to better enforce intellectual property. We’ve got further agreement as a consequence of this state visit. And I think President Hu would acknowledge that more needs to be done.